The Army and the Bride

The Scripture revealed that the primary purpose and plan of God for His New Testament people is to be the Army of Christ and at the same time to be prepared as the Bride of Christ. When we are born again we become representatives of God's Kingdom here on earth. Whether we like it or not, we find ourselves involved in an all out war with an opposing kingdom. This opposing kingdom is Satan's kingdom, which is a highly organized kingdom of evil beings - persons without bodies. Therefore we are involved in a spiritual warfare.

This message is the introductory Spiritual Warfare message concerning the Church as Christ's Army and Christ's Bride. In the the forthcoming message, the Lord willing, we will discuss the following topics: The dwelling place of God and the dwelling place of Satan; the battle ground and Satan's authority; agressive warfare prayers; our spiritual weapons and how to launch the weapons. The Scripture is our only source of information and it is our responsibility to search for it. This information will help us to fight with certainty and to fight to win.

Paul said, "Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air" (1 Cor. 9:26, NKJV).

Distinctive Pictures of Believers in Christ

Paul's epistle to the Ephesians reveals seven distinctive pictures of believers in Christ:

The Church - "And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the Church, ..." (Eph. 1:22, emphasis added).

The word "Church" comes from the Greek word "ekklesia" which means "an assembly" - A group of poeple called out by God to form a special group for a special purpose. The word "assembly" that appears in Acts 19:32, 39, 41, is used to described the riot in Ephesus.

The special responsibility given to this group of people is to serve Jesus Christ and to be prepared by Him to become the collective instrument of the Government which He will establish in the next age. Someone said that it is God's purpose to govern the nations through the Church.

The moment a person is regenerated and born agin by the Spirit of God he automatically becomes a member of the Church of Jesus Christ. Therefore he needs not apply for membership. God expects him to come together with other believers in a local Church assembly for worship and fellowship on a regular basis. On the other hand, membership in a local Church has nothing to do with being recognized by God as a member of His Church. If a believer has been a member of a local Church for 20 year, but he is not born again, he has not entered the kingdom of God, and therefore he does not actually belong the the Church of Jesus Christ.

The Body - "... which (the Church) is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all" (Eph 1:23, emphasis added).

Paul also said, in his other epistles that believers collectively are the Body of Christ:

"Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually" (1 Cor. 12:27).

"And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence" (Col. 1:18).

We, the Church are the Body of Christ. The function of the body is to do the will of the head. It is our head (Christ) that controls the movement and activities of our various body parts and their God-given functions and gifts. Therefore, as parts of His Body, we must do the will of the Head, our Lord. The body is crippled if any part goes out of alignment with the head. Therefore, the Church will be crippled if some Christians failed to do the will of God. I believe there are many crippled Local Churches that bear little or no fruit for God.

God's Workmanship - "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2:10, emphasis added).

The Church is His workmanship, His created masterpiece. God has chosen to demonstrate His wisdom to the entire universe, including unbelievers and satanic beings, through us, as we do His good works!

"... to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, ..." (Eph. 3:10, emphasis added).

God's Family - "Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, ..." (Eph. 2:21, 22, emphasis added).

We are not outsiders or strangers. We belong to God's family. This implies that as Christians we have horizontal and vertical relationships. We have God as our Father and we are brothers and sisters to one another. Someone said that you may choose your friends but you don't choose your family members. Therefore, whether we like one another or not we have to get along - for we are brothers and sisters in Christ.

God's Temple - "... in whom (Jesus Christ) the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit" (Eph. 2:21, 22, emphasis added).

Paul also said, in his epistle to the Corinthians, that believers are the temple of God:

"Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are" (1 Cor. 3:16, 17).

We are God's dwelling place. Someone said we don't go to Chruch, we are the Church. Where we are the Church is; where the Church is, God is. God's residential address is the Church - the true Church of Jesus Christ.

The Bride of Christ - "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and withour blemish" (Eph. 5:25 - 27, emphasis added).

Here we use the principle of making inference because we can't find anywhere in the Scripture which indicates explicitly and directly that the Church is the Bride of Christ.

Paul said early, "For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body" (Eph. 5:23).

The above verses indicate, without any doubt, that the relationship between the husband and the wife is similar to the relatioship between Christ and the Church - a relationship of intense love, total commitment and deep yearning for each other! We are one with Christ.

However it is important to note that Paul made it plain that only those Christians who have gone through a process of cleansing and sanctifying "with the washing of water by the word" (V. 26) will be in the condition necessary for their final presentation to Christ as His Bride. Therefore it is extremely important that Christians who want to be the Bride of Christ understand the Scripture thoroughly, knowing that there are many compromising preachers, teachers and pastors in the Church today. Instead preaching sound doctrine they are likely to preach "itching ear" and men-pleasing doctrines (2 Tim. 4:3). Those who listen to such preaching will not fulfill the condition for being the Bride of Christ.

The Bride of Christ will be the "Glorious Church" - "Not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing ... Holy and without blemish" (V. 27).

The Army of God - "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil" (Eph. 6:10, 11).

Here again we need to make inferences. What kind of a person that puts on armor? The answer is, a soldier. We notice that the above passage is in the plural. Therefore it is written to Christians collectively and not individually. The name for collective group of soldiers is an army. The army speaks about being tough, manly, disciplined, courageous, standby in ranks and if necessary, each soldier lays down his life in the obedience to orders.

The Army and the Bride


I believe there is great significance in the fact that the two pictures of God's people, the Bride and the Army, were placed last in Paul's description of the seven pictures of God's people. This represents the end time emphasis of the Holy Spirit. This certainly concerns us as Christians in our involvement in Spiritual Warfare.

There is an apparent paradox in moving from being the Bride to being the Army. I can't think of any two things in the natural less like one another than a bride and a soldier, a member in the army. The nature of the bride is tender, yearning passionate, expectant, gentle and sweet. It is just the opposite to the the picture of the soldier.


It seems to me that the time has come when the Bride is being prepared by God to meet the Bridegroom, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Army is being organized and disciplined and equipped also by God to go out and fight the great End-time spiritual conflict. I believe God is asking us to take on both these aspects. He is asking you and me to take on the nature and character of the Bride in our relationship to the Bridegroom. But He is also asking us to be very military minded and to be prepared to take up a soldier's life, and to accept the discipline, the hardship and the pressure of the military life. We are living in an exciting time in God's timetable!


I notice that there is only one verse in the entire Bible that interestingly combines these two beautiful pictures of God's people:


"Who is she who looks forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, awesome as an army with banners" (Song of Solomon 6:10, NKJV).


The Song of Solomon pictures Israel as God's betrothed Bride (Hosea 2:19, 20) and prophetically, the true Church as the Bride of Christ. As human life finds its highest fulfillment in the love of a man and a woman, so spiritual life finds its highest fulfillment in the love of God for His chosen people, and the love of Christ for His Church.


I believe Song of Solomon 6:10 depicts a very beautiful picture of the Bride. She is like the brightness in the morning after a long dark night. She comes forth with the brilliant and the beauty of the rising sun. She is as fair as the moon.


The unique function of the moon is to reflect the sun. Similarly, the function of the Church is to reflect the Sun of Righteousness, our Lord Jesus Christ (Malachi 4:2). the moon is not constant, it vexes and vanes. So is the Church. In the Book of Acts we see the early Church as a full moon, reflected the whole nature and minintry of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Church had the ministries and gifts as those of Christ when He was in His humanity at the time of the twelve apostles. But, according to history and observation, the moon began to vane, and it became smaller and smaller reflected less and less of Christ. And then the moon was no longer there - The Church lost her function of reflecting the light of the sun. I believe that was during the Dark Ages! Then the moon began to appear again and reflected a little of Christ but it has been vexing and vaning. Many prophetic teachers tell us that at the close of this age, the "moon" of the Church will be full again with all the ministries and gifts restored and it will fully and accurately reflect the Sun of Righteousness again. But, one thing is certain - Jesus Himself said: "... the harvest is at the end of the age ..." (Matt. 13:39).


Whatever happens, the moon only depicts part of the picture of the Bride. But then the same verse also says that the Bride is as "clear as the sun". So, although the Church is as responsible as the moon as to reflect the sun, nevertheless the Church is also clothed with the righteousness of Jesus Christ Himself - the Sun of Righteousness!


"For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation. He has covered me with the robe of righteousness" (Isaiah 61:10).


The last part of the picture of the Bride is "... awesome as an army with banners". The banner speaks of victory. I am sure this is the picture that makes all the forces of evil tremble! The Bride is not called just to win a battle or two but to proclaim and administer the total victory of the War that her Bridegroom has already won on the cross!


I believe the Holy Spirit is challenging us, calling us to repentance, to humble ourselves before Him who sets before us God's objective. The Church is facing two options, to rise up and get involved in what God is doing or to carry on "sleeping", doing things our own way and left out of it. The Church today is assuming there is a revival coming, but you don't see many Christians in the prayer meeting! Church members, and even pastors, have little or no idea of what Spiritual Warfare involves. Many are "at ease in Zion" (Amos 6:1).


Beloved, revival start in the hearts of individual Christians and starts from the hearts of pastors and Church leaders; starts with prayer burden with the conviction of the Holy Spirit. It is possible to go the heaven whan a Christian dies, but misses most of what God has for him while he lives. It is never the will of God for God's people to live out his earthly life, be a religious and churchy Christian who sits in the pews, and be an easy target for Satan! The Bride of Christ is called to be the Army of God and called to get involved in doing God's will - in Spiritual Warfare!